Colorado has just over 45 schools with business programs. Specializations vary widely and doctoral programs are numerous. Whatever your major or specialization, you can probably find a scholarship to match. For example, if you are a member of a minority group and your course of study has to do with the transportation, travel, or tourism industries, you may be eligible for the ABA Diversity Scholarship.

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Business Degree Programs in Colorado

Listed below are all of the colleges and universities in Colorado that offer business degree programs. If you want to narrow it down a bit more, you can browse our listings of specific types of business degree programs in Colorado:

Marketing degree programs in Colorado >

State of Colorado's Marketing Industry

Things are looking up in Colorado. The state is back in the game and doing well, as Chase Bank's economic outlook pointed out in 2012. Having weathered the great recession, Colorado's real GDP ratio is rising steadily. Construction is up, office vacancies are down and job markets are on the mend.

What's good for the economy is good for the marketing industry. Colorado's business-friendly tax structure continues to free up dollars for marketing departments. The 2012 Fortune 500 company Liberty Interactive, a powerful digital commerce group, makes its home in Englewood.

Even better, three Colorado companies rank in the top 1000 of Inc.'s Top 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies in the advertising and marketing sector: Altitude Digital Partners (#54), ShopAtHome.com (#424) and Diablo Media (#754).

Job Prospects for Colorado Marketing Graduates

Overall employment in Colorado is rising steadily, but you can still expect competition for marketing jobs - Colorado's Department of Labor and Employment (CDOL) has predicted only small increases in jobs for public relations specialists and marketing managers from 2008-2018.

Those who find a marketing niche in the Rockies tend to do well. In 2011, the median annual salary for U.S. advertising and promotions managers was $87,700, while in Colorado it was $108,600, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and CDOL numbers. Across-the-board marketing salaries were consistently higher than the national average.

If you're just starting out, you might want to search for positions in Colorado's thriving telecommunications and technology sectors, in companies such as DISH Network and Ball Aerospace. You can also target fast-growing marketing agencies such as 90octane in Denver.

Colorado Schools for Marketing

There are twelve accredited marketing schools in Colorado, primarily in Denver and Colorado Springs. Here are two to consider:

U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Denver #83 among national universities in 2012. To keep in touch with the world outside academia, the Daniels College of Business hosts two monthly roundtables for marketing professionals, students and faculty.

Undergraduates have the option to choose a major or minor in marketing; graduates can opt for a Master of Science in marketing, with one customized and four specialty tracks, or a graduate business certificate.

Business schools in Colorado continue to produce qualified graduates to serve as leaders of the state's most profitable enterprises and new startups. The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that altogether the state's business environment is made up of small companies that employ less than 100 people (36 percent), medium companies that employ 100-500 people (13 percent), and large companies that employ over 500 (51 percent). Colorado's total workforce is made up of 3.57 million people, according to 2015 figures from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

Colorado business school graduates hold bachelor’s degrees in business administration (BBA) along with specialized MBA degrees in areas like finance, HR, management, marketing, and accounting. As a business school graduate you are important both in Colorado's large companies as well as its small businesses.

When it comes to Gross State Product, Colorado ranks 18th in the nation with $309.7 billion in 2015 alone, despite ranking 22nd in the nation in terms of population.

With the right business degree and a lot of moxie, you could join the ranks of Colorado’s most successful business leaders. Colorado’s success stories include the likes of Charles Ergen, who started out as a door-to-door salesman selling satellite dishes from the back of his truck in Denver. Ergen would eventually going on to own Dish Network based in Englewood, which is today worth $32.4 billion.

Tangible Evidence of Strong Business Leadership in Colorado

Tomorrow's business leaders must be adept and comfortable within their area of expertise to lead the corporations that make up the most profitable industries in the state (statistics taken from a 2015 BEA report):

The Daniels College of Business at the private University of Denver is the only business school in Colorado that earns top ranks from Businessweek, U.S. News & World Report and the Financial Times. One of the key benefits of earning your MBA at a highly-rated school is the quality of the network you're able to build through your education. While the school does not offer an online program, it does offer a number of options. The full-time MBA is a standard 21-month on-campus program; the international MBA takes a bit more time and has a language and international travel requirement, while the one-year MBA can be completed in as little as 11 months. The professional MBA is a part-time program for working students and the executive MBA is designed for senior executives with at least 10 years of work experience. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has accredited each of these programs.

This well-regarded state institution now offers its MBA program to online students. Designed as a professional MBA for students with significant work experience, the courses can be completed in as few as 21 months or as long as five years, depending on your pace of study. Most of the work is done online, with the exception of an optional (but highly recommended) international business study trip. In addition to a general management focus, you can also chose a concentration in finance or computer information systems. All programs are AACSB accredited.

Accredited by the AACSB, a University of Colorado Denver MBA can open many doors. It is the largest MBA program in Colorado, and the entire coursework for the program are now offered online using state-of-the-art technology for a highly interactive experience. Leadership, diplomacy and analytical thinking are developed through individualized attention and group interaction. The program uses a variety of teaching methods, including real-world group projects, case studies, computer simulations, class discussions and involvement with businesses in Colorado. Areas of concentration include finance, enterprise technology management, information systems and managing for sustainability.

Regis is a private Jesuit college with a long history of academic excellence and a reputation for innovation in online learning. The College for Professional Studies' MBA programs are ideal for working professionals and are designed to prepare you for leadership, with a particular emphasis on using financial data and fiscal analysis. Within this philosophy, you have significant leeway in your area of concentration; options include health industry leadership, marketing, operations management, project management, strategic management and a global MBA in emerging markets. The Regis MBA is available at any of the university's four campuses, as well as online.

U.S. News & World Report gives Jones International University's Business School top rankings in faculty credentials and training, placing it in the top five schools in this category. The school is also highly rated in the areas of student services and engagement. Indeed, the online program puts an emphasis on engagement, connecting students with faculty, other students and businesses. The school offers lifelong career planning support through a program called Total Professional Advantage 2.0. You can earn your online MBA from Jones University with concentrations in accounting, forensic accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, financial analysis, global enterprise management, health care management, cyber security and information technology, negotiation and conflict management or project management.